A Dialogue Between Link and His Spiritual Guide
by ronnybear
Summary: Link has a conversation with a mysterious woman.


"Have you ever thought about why you do it?"

Link stirred from his spot in the field where he had been resting and turned to see a raven-haired young woman in a green dress looking intently at him.

"Excuse me?"

She repeated her question. "Have you ever thought about why you do it?"

"Why…? Why I do what?" Link asked, still wondering how she was able to sneak up on him. It had been some time since he had been snuck up on and he was still reeling from it. He had practically forgotten how jarring the experience could be. All his time spent… adventuring? No, that's not the word. Questing? No, that's not it either. In any case, all his time spent doing this, whatever it was, had fine-tuned his senses in a way he would have previously thought impossible. Every time he entered a room he almost instinctively knew how many persons occupied it, where they were situated and whether or not they may prove themselves aggressive. It had been quite some time since anyone, or anything, had gotten the better of him in such a way. He tried to remember the last time he legitimately felt surprise or shock at another being's presence when his thoughts were interrupted by the raven-haired woman's answer. Her response was just as surprising and unwelcome to Link as her presence had been.

"Why you do this. Adventuring… questing… whatever it is you've been doing since you left the forest," she said, as if she had been reading his mind this whole time.

"Wha—? How did you—? Who are—?" The numerous questions ran through Link's head so quickly that he could scarcely spit them out.

The woman smiled. "Which question would you like me to answer first?"

Link thought for but a moment. "Who are you?"

The woman sat down across from him. Her dress, its color being roughly the same shade of green as the grassy fields surrounding them, seemed to mesh with the landscape, becoming one fluid substance. As the wind blew, her dress fluttered with the blades of grass. When the wind settled, so too did her dress, melding with the field. She looked at Link and said, "I will answer your questions. But you must also answer mine."

Link sighed. As intrigued as he was by this woman, he was still annoyed at her presence. She had interrupted one of the few moments in recent days when he was truly at peace. His duty… no, his obligation… Oh, drat. His whatever-this-was left little time for relaxation. Whenever Epona required rest, as she did now, Link took the opportunity to rest as well. While his horse grazed nearby he would lay back and stare up at the clouds or stars, whichever may be making their appearance at the time, and for a brief period he would forget all that troubled him.

"Fine then," he said at last, "what questions do you have for me?"

"Have you ever thought about why you do it?" she asked again.

"Yes," he instinctively replied. It seemed the obvious answer. Of course he had thought about the why. Hadn't he? Soon, he thought better of it and changed his answer, "No. No, I haven't thought about why I do it. Not seriously, in any case."

"Why not?" She asked, as soon as he had answered. If she held any opinion about his answer it was not revealed by action or tone.

"Why not?" He parroted her question. "Well, there hasn't been much time, has there? Ever since…" He studied her face, wondering how she knew so much, "Ever since I left the forest, it's been nonstop."

"And you never question what you do? You follow the road you're on, never questioning?" Her voice betrayed a sense of mirth, as if she was delighted to be getting into the meat of the questioning.

"Of course I question." Link replied, "'Where to next?' 'How do I accomplish this or that?' 'What do I need to acquire to continue my journey?' 'Who do I need to talk to for the information I need?' The questions never cease. But the 'why'? I suppose the 'why' just kind of… fell by the wayside. It didn't seem to be as important."

The woman seemed troubled by his answer, and sat forward, anxiously. "Oh! But it's of the most supreme importance! How can you hope to accomplish anything if you do not know why you hope to accomplish it?"

At this, Link shrugged. "Listen, ma'am, it's not as if I chose this path."

The woman smiled. "Oh, did you not?"

This time, Link sat forward. "No! This responsibility… it was thrust upon me."

The woman frowned. "Is that how you feel? That you are an unwilling participant? That you are forced to continue this path?"

Link looked at her and refused to answer. He studied her face. She seemed genuinely put-out by what he had said, though for the life of him, Link couldn't figure why it would affect her so. He decided that he was tired of answering questions and would rather try his hand at asking them for a while. "What about you?" Link inquired. "You said that you would answer my questions as well."

The woman leaned back and relaxed, allowing her elbows to support her upper body. She ran her fingers through the grass playfully, but her expression was anything but playful. She looked at the grass longingly, sad even, as if the very patch of grass her fingers now ran through had been a former lover who had taken to another. After a time, she looked back up at Link. "Very well. The agreement was that we would both be posed questions that we must answer. I will adhere to that agreement."

Link mirrored her relaxed position. "So, you shall be my inquisitor and I shall be yours."

At this, she laughed and stirred, her mood seemingly brightened. "Yes. Yes! Let the inquisition begin! I shall be rigorous in my questioning, and I shall encourage the same from you. But to what end, my fine inquisitor, do we initiate such a discussion?"

"Well, you tell me," Link replied. "Why did you come and question me?"

"To understand you," she answered, "And why do you seek answers from me?"

"The same," he replied.

"I see. Then we shall examine each other in order to come to a better understanding of one another," she said, satisfied with that goal. She considered the matter resolved, but a glance at Link's face told her that he was not as content. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"And ourselves," he said.

"Oh?"

"To come to a better understanding of one another… and a better understanding of ourselves," he explained. She looked doubtful. He continued, "When you asked me if I ever thought about why I do this, I at first answered 'Yes'. But after thinking about it for a second, I realized that the truer answer was 'No'. I suddenly understood something about myself that had previously gone unnoticed."

"I understand myself very well already," she said proudly.

"But you could always understand yourself better, right?" Link asked, feeling more at ease now that he was leading the conversation.

"I suppose," the woman admitted, "In any case, let us get back to it. I believe it was your turn to ask a question."

"Okay," Link said, "Who are you?"

"Well," she said while putting on a sly smile. She looked to the ground and began playing with the grass again. Taking a sharp intake of breath, and on it's exhalation, she replied, "That's a difficult question to answer."

Link allowed his jaw to positively drop. "You bombard me with questions of 'why', expecting perfect answers, and then claim that _this _is a difficult question to answer?" he shot back in shock, and then, matter-of-factly, "It is a simple question."

"You're wrong," she said, as Link pouted. She continued, speaking quickly now, "I do not expect perfect answers, and it is not a simple question that you ask, though I don't doubt that people often think it so. There are many things that I am, and indeed, many things that you are. I think that, upon reflection, you will find that it is never a simple question to ask who someone is."

"Alright," Link said, feeling that he was perhaps catching on to this game. He grinned. "Let's start with your name. What is it?"


End file.
